Upcycled TV Cabinet

In the 50-plus years that my mom lived in this house, she collected a lot of stuff. Her dilemma was always where to put that stuff.

One of the things she did was to have this cabinet built in the ’70s. (When we took it out, there was 3” avocado green shag carpet under it!)

I really need to remember to snap a photo before we tear it out!

I really need to remember to snap a photo before we tear it out!

She had it made to fit on the wall between the closet and the bathroom door in the room that she used as her office. The room is off of the kitchen so it made sense to put it there.

This was where she kept the rice cooker, the pressure cooker, the Salad Shooter (remember those??), the blender, various trays and lots of other stuff. You can see she had the bottom designed to fit specific pieces she wanted to store.

dated-cabinets.jpg

When we made this Loren’s room, we decided that we would use this piece for her TV cabinet and storage.

After all, it was made for the space.

It just needed a little updating.





So we took the doors off the top.

And replaced the 1970’s paneling on the back with a sheet of beadboard.

beadboard-backed-cabinets.jpg

Then Mr. Redoux made new doors with beadboard inserts for the bottom. (He sure is good to have around, isn’t he??!)

BTW: if you don’t have a ‘Mr. Redoux’ at your house, you can buy cabinet doors online to fit a piece you are renovating.

tv-cabinet-with-doors.jpg

Then we painted the whole thing the same color as our trim. And added new knobs.

And now, here is the new, improved cabinet.

Pin for later

Pin for later

Much better, don’t you think?


And Loren has storage for all her movies, CDs and books.

tv-cabinet-with-storage.jpg





At our house, we’re all about reinventing, reusing and restoring pieces to give them new life.

Something that was dark and dated was easily transformed into something fresh and new. (I can say ‘easily’ because I didn’t have to make the doors…)

So look around. At Estate Sales. Yard Sales. Consignment Stores. Thrift Stores. In your basement….

Try to see beyond the dark, dated stain and ugly doors. Is there something there that can be transformed with a little paint and some imagination?


From this?

IMG_2127.jpg

To this?

Pin for later

Pin for later